


Love Is In The Air

by JehBeeEh



Series: Ahead by a Century [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fear of Flying, M/M, Meet-Cute, Modern Era, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 23:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20825222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JehBeeEh/pseuds/JehBeeEh
Summary: Steve quickly found his seat once he got on the plane and reached up to put his carry-on in the overhead bin.  He was one of the last people to get on the plane, and he noticed the seat next to him was empty. This flight was definitely looking up.  As he was about to take his seat though, he heard a vaguely familiar voice next to him.“Excuse me? I’m so sorry to bother you with this, but would you mind helping me get my carry-on up there? The angle is just awkward from here, and you have a definite height advantage which’ll make things go a bit faster. Plus, I may have over packed a bit, and it weighs a ton, which I’m sorry in advance for, but judging by the size of your biceps and shoulders – not that I was staring or anything, but you look like you work out, yeah? – you will handle it in a much better fashion than I could.”Steve, on the other hand, was definitely staring now.  Because when he’d turned, he was looking at Tony Stark.





	Love Is In The Air

Steve hated flying. He despised it. If he was given a choice, he would rather take hours more and drive instead of getting on a flight. But every now and then, he really had no other choice and he had to get on a plane and fly across the country to his company’s headquarters for some meeting or another. Thankfully for him, they’d agreed that any work-related travel would involve first class airfare, so there was at least a minor silver lining.  
  
As he sat in the lounge, enjoying a pre-flight drink, he tried not to think about being stuck on a plane for the next five and a half hours. It was late enough in the day that he could try and sleep, and failing that, his editors had given him a bunch of work he had to start designating to his team, so he could get started on those assignments too. It would be fine. There were hundreds of cross-country flights in a day, and this was just another one of them. Everything would be fine.  
  
He checked his messages one last time before getting ready to head towards his gate. There were a few messages from his friends in their group chat who’d all gone out for drinks to celebrate the end of another long work week, with promises to get together once Steve was back in town to hear all about his getaway. The thought of getting to see them put a smile on Steve’s face, and he kept that image at the forefront of his mind as he got to his gate. Just one more thing to look forward to, and hopefully help keep him sane during this godforsaken flight.  
  
Steve quickly found his seat once he got on the plane – he was pretty tall, so he tried to get the first row of seats whenever he could to enjoy a bit of extra leg room – and reached up to put his carry-on in the overhead bin. He was one of the last people to get on the plane (totally on purpose), and he noticed the seat next to him was empty. This flight was definitely looking up. As he was about to take his seat though, he heard a vaguely familiar voice next to him.  
  
“Excuse me? I’m so sorry to bother you with this, but would you mind helping me get my carry-on up there? The angle is just awkward from here, and you have a definite height advantage which’ll make things go a bit faster. Plus, I may have over packed a bit, and it weighs a ton, which I’m sorry in advance for, but judging by the size of your biceps and shoulders – not that I was staring or anything, but you look like you work out, yeah? – you will handle it in a much better fashion than I could.”  
  
Steve, on the other hand, was definitely staring now. Because when he’d turned, he was looking at Tony Stark. THE Tony Stark. And Steve was completely star struck at the genius billionaire standing in front of him, looking less like a CEO than usual in his band tee, sport jacket and jeans. And he absolutely had to take a second to remind his brain to start talking and not just gawk at the man in front of him.  
  
“Oh my god. You’re you. Wow!” Steve started to say, and he wanted to kick himself. Way to not sound like an idiot there, Rogers, he thought to himself. “Ok, lets try that again. Yes, I can totally help you with your luggage.”  
  
Tony Stark just smiled as he rolled the carry-on towards Steve, a flicker of amusement barely visible in his eyes through his lightly tinted glasses. “Thanks. I take it we’re sharing this row?” he replied, pointing at what Steve realized were the last two unoccupied seats in the front of the plane.  
  
“I guess so,” Steve answered as he willed himself not to start blushing. He scooted into his seat after securing the luggage above them and turned to his seatmate to introduce himself. “I’m Steve, by the way. Steve Rogers,” he held out his hand, hoping it didn’t seem too awkward.  
  
“Nice to meet you Steve Rogers. I’m me, as you so aptly pointed out,” Tony shook his hand and gave him a wink, and Steve absolutely blushed, and cringed, at that.  
  
“I am so sorry about that. Definitely not my smoothest reply ever.”  
  
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’ve definitely had worse reactions when people meet me for the first time. You’re good.”  
  
“Oh, I’ll torture myself over this regardless, but I appreciate you trying to make me feel better about it, Mr. Stark,” Steve gave him a slight smile as he started replaying the conversation in his mind. Had Tony admitted to checking him out, or did his mind mis-understand that?  
  
“If we’re going to be sitting together for six hours, please call me Tony. I just spent 3 days being called Mr. Stark by my whole California division, I can’t take it anymore,” he told Steve as the plane taxied towards the runway.  
  
Steve just nodded slowly as he realized the plane had started moving. He triple-checked that his seatbelt was properly fastened, and then just sat back and closed his eyes, gripping the armrests like his life depended on it.  
  
“I take it you aren’t a big fan of flying, Steve?” Tony asked in a soft voice.  
  
“No… it’s definitely not my favourite,” Steve opened his eyes and barely turned his head to look over to Tony. “Might be part of why I reacted the way I did when I realized you were you, and you might see me completely overreact to something as simple and mundane as flying. I’m sorry you’re stuck sitting next to me…”  
  
“You sure apologize a lot there, Rogers,” Tony cut him off with a soft chuckle. “And don’t worry, I get it. I used to hate flying as a kid. Until I learned how the physics of it worked, and what all the sounds and movements were. It didn’t seem so bad after that. I’d still like it more if I was in control of it, that is a me thing though, but I don’t mind it so much anymore. I can walk you through take-off if you think it’ll help. Or I can sit here quietly too if you need to be in your own head.”  
  
Steve must have looked so confused in that moment, ‘cause Tony gave him another soft smile, and just waited for an answer. His take-off routine was simple: close his eyes, do the breathing exercises his therapist had taught him, and pray to some deity he didn’t necessarily believe in that the plane would actually lift off the ground. It had worked well up to now, but he also never had one of his celebrity crushes sitting next to him, offering to talk him through take-off. And really, when would this ever happen again? When a sound coming from the wing behind them made him jump, Steve figured it was worth a shot.  
  
“Talk. Please, talk,”, was all he managed to blurt out.  
  
Tony smiled. “Sounds good. And if you change your mind, just say stop, ok?” Steve nodded as Tony started explaining the mechanics and physics behind aviation. Steve understood about 75% of what he was talking about, which made him feel pretty good about himself in that moment – Tony Stark was a freaking genius after all. Once they were next for take off, Steve focused solely on Tony’s words. They were calm and soothing, and made everything else melt away. The next thing he knew, they were in the air, his death grip on the arm rests completely gone as Tony announced “And that sound would be the wheels retracting into the plane. And voila! We’re flying. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”  
  
“I wish I’d recorded that for the next time I have to fly. Thank you,” Steve mused out loud.  
  
“You are very welcome. I’ll have to contact the people at _Calm_ and see if they need someone to record a pre-flight meditation track. Not that you should have your headphones on during take off, we don’t want to get the flight crew mad,” Tony replied with a grin. “Now, how about a drink while you tell me why you are flying across the country, Steve Rogers?”  
  
Steve relaxed as he started telling Tony about his visit to California as they waited for the attendants to start making the rounds. “I’m a graphic designer for a magazine. I get to work out of our New York office, but HQ is in San Diego, so every once in a while, I have to fly out here for meetings. I tacked on a few sight seeing days this time, but I am on my way home now. I think this might be the longest I’ve been away from home actually,” he realized as he thought about his two week stay on the West Coast.  
  
They continued talking well into the flight, Tony going into a few details about his business trip, and a few projects Stark Industries had recently announced – which Steve was secretly fan-boying over, not that he’d admit it out loud. The conversation flowed so easily and freely; Steve forgot who he was talking to most of the time. The now two drinks they’d had may have helped with that fact too. Steve definitely blamed them for what happened when they hit a small patch of turbulence a little over halfway through their flight.  
  
The first shake they felt was barely a tremor, but Steve’s death grip on the arm rests returned instinctively as he tried to concentrate on the story Tony was telling him. The second movement felt like the whole plane just dropped a few feet and for some reason unknown to Steve, he clenched his eyes shut and grabbed Tony’s hand on the armrest next to his as he automatically went into his breathing exercises. It felt like the plane shook for an hour, but it was probably no more than five minutes. When the plane had been steady for a few minutes, Steve remembered a soothing voice explaining air pockets and cloud density as the plane shook. He slowly opened his eyes to that same voice telling him everything would be fine, and he felt a thumb gently rubbing the top of his hand.  
  
“Hey, you’re back,” Tony said, his voice still soft and soothing. “I was starting to worry about you there. And before you do, no need to apologize. That was a pretty rough patch of turbulence, even for me. I’m actually happy I had you to talk it through with,” Tony gave him a nervous smile, and the sincerity in his voice helped Steve relax.  
  
“Thanks for talking me through it, I don’t know what got into me. I didn’t mean to grab your hand… this is officially at the top of the most embarrassing moments in my life.”  
  
“Oh yeah? What used to be number one before now?”  
  
And Steve told the CEO of Stark Industries all about the time his best friend and college roommate Bucky dared him, after a few tequila shots and beers of course, to run outside their dorm buck naked at 2a.m., which of course resulted in him literally running into one of the most popular girls on campus and having lots of explaining to do.  
  
“Why would you ever agree to do that?! Streaking is NEVER a good idea!” Tony replied in between fits of laughter. “No, I still think that should stay at the top of the list. Grabbing a random stranger’s hand on a plane is definitely not as bad.”  
  
“Yeah, but you aren’t just a random stranger. You’re Tony _freaking_ Stark! You’re one of the most famous and richest people on the planet. My friends will never believe me when I tell them this story, you know. I’ve done this flight a dozen times and we always joke about me meeting a celebrity, but this? Getting to sit next to the guy on most of our laminated top 5 lists? That is not meant to happen. Ever! And if my team at work ever found out I had you for 6 hours and didn’t bring back some sort of techy gossip, they’d all kill me. They worship you. So no, I think this still stays at the top of the list, no question.”  
  
“Wait a second, back up there. What’s a ‘laminated top 5 list’?” Tony asked, with an amused expression on his face.  
  
“Shit… I didn’t say that, did I?”  
  
“Yeah you did, and you better start explaining. I think I deserve to know what lists I’m on.”  
  
Steve was turning beet red at this point. What happened to his brain to mouth filter? It must be a lack of oxygen in the plane, right? “Um, you know, like on Friends? The TV show...?”  
  
“I’ll need more than that, Rogers.”  
  
Steve closed his eyes and swore to himself he was driving to California next time. “There’s this episode where one of the guys makes a list of the top 5 celebrities he could… sleep with, even if he were in a relationship. He gets it laminated and everything so it’s official. Anyways, my group of friends and I always joked around about having one of those lists, because it’s silly and it would absolutely never happen. You feature on 3 of 5 of our lists.” He opened one eye and looked over to Tony, who just stared at him with the same amused expression on his face, and a slightly playful grin. “You’re probably regretting not taking one of your private jets back to New York now, huh?”  
  
“Oh no, not even one bit,” Tony replied with a laugh. “Me, alone for five hours with nothing but my own thoughts, versus this? No contest, this wins by a long shot, flying anxiety and all. But, before I keep talking, where exactly do you work? You’ve kinda got me worried about what I’ve already told you.”  
  
“I work for Wired magazine,” Steve confessed. “My team is full of really techy nerds and geeks, and they truly would die if they found out I got to meet you, but they won’t, cause it would take no time before some of the editors found out and they’d be harassing me non-stop for details. I mean it, they won’t find out anything from me. It’s part of why I didn’t tell you up front where I worked, I didn’t want you to not talk to me the whole flight. Not that you gave me any trade secrets or big scoops anyways. I really appreciate how nice you were when we were taking off, I wouldn’t want you to think I took that for granted, ‘cause I absolutely don’t.”  
  
“Huh. That is not what I expected to hear. Thanks Steve,” Tony seemed genuinely shocked at Steve’s sincere answer. After a minute he continued, “You know I gotta ask now… Who’s on your laminated list?” a cheeky expression replacing the serious one he’d had just a minute ago.  
  
“I was really hoping you’d let that one go,” Steve sighed as he felt the colour returning to his face. “Right now, it’s Anna Kendrick, Kristen Bell, Ryan Reynolds, and Daniel Craig,” he replied simply.  
  
“All very solid choices, I’d have to agree with that list. But that was only four…”  
  
“Caught that, huh?”  
  
“Kinda did. Genius and all.”  
  
Steve slowly let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. “You’ve been at the top of my list ever since I can remember,” he turned to look at Tony with a sheepish expression.  
  
“Have I now. Well then… and you think your significant other would be ok if I put the moves on you now?” Tony gave him a flirty look that made Steve melt.  
  
“Um… I’m single, actually.” (Was the air getting thinner in the plane?)  
  
“Really? Huh,” was all Tony managed to get out before the announcement came that they were starting their descent. “So, want to learn more about aeronautics, or is my talking just going to make you blush more than you already are?” he finally asked Steve, a playful smirk on his face.  
  
“What the heck. I don’t think I can make this flight worse than it’s already been, right?” Steve retorted, wishing he could turn back time.  
  
“I meant it, Steve. This was one of my favourite flights. People usually avoid talking to me at all costs, and just ask for a selfie at some point. You’ve actually been really fun to chat with; it was a nice change.”  
  
“Guess I shouldn’t ask for a selfie now then, eh?”  
  
“We can take as many selfies as you want, but I want your number in return,” Tony’s voice had turned back to the flirty tone he’d used before, and Steve all but disintegrated from the heat it sent rushing through his core.  
  
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard that right. You want my number? As in phone. As in to call… me?”  
  
“Why is that so hard to believe, Rogers? Look, I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that you are incredibly good looking. Might have asked you for help for completely selfish reasons when I got on the plane – and I don’t regret it for one second, by the way. I’ve never had such an easy conversation with anyone before, unless I’m talking with some of my closest friends, and that never happens to me. And then I find out you’ve managed to keep your cool throughout this whole time while actually having a crush on me? That’s pretty impressive in my books, and I’d love to take you out to dinner and spend time with you somewhere that will hopefully not cause you anxiety attacks. So yes, if you don’t mind, I’d love if you gave me your number, Steve Rogers.  
  
“But, we are about to land, and electronics are not permitted right now so how about I explain how this giant metal bird gets on the ground – that’s the landing gear you’re hearing by the way – and once we are safe on earth again, then you can give me your number and get that selfie. Sound like a deal?”  
  
“Uh-huh,” was all that came out of Steve’s mouth, as he was completely paralyzed by both the prospect of the plane landing and that Tony Stark wanted to take him out on a date. He focused as much as he could on what Tony was trying to explain to him, but he found it incredibly hard to concentrate on anything except Tony’s face. Those dark brown eyes, his cheekbones, that defined jawline, his lips. How did Steve get so lucky to have this seat, on this flight, and now the prospect of a date with one of the most eligible bachelors in the country? And only a minor anxiety attack on top of it all. He wasn’t sure what expression his face held, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a goofy love-struck grin that would embarrass him even more than the story he’d told earlier, and he didn’t even care right now.  
  
A few minutes later, the plane touched down and came to a quick stop, as did Tony’s explanation, and they just looked at each other for a few seconds before Steve spoke.  
  
“Thank you so much for explaining all that to me. People usually avoid talking to me on flights too, mostly ‘cause I make it super awkward with the whole anxiety thing. I definitely didn’t expect anyone to ever be so nice and helpful about the whole thing. It really did mean a lot to me, Tony.”  
  
“Anytime. Now, still want that selfie?”  
  
“If you’re really sure you don’t mind?” Steve smiled sweetly as he took out his phone.  
  
“What is that? I thought you said you worked for Wired, not Antiques Monthly! How old is that thing?”  
  
“My phone is not that old. It does what I need it to do, I have a tablet in my bag for the rest.”  
  
“Is it made out of stone? Cause that’s when that phone was made,” Tony deadpanned as he pulled out his own phone. “Come here, I’ll just use mine, it’s got a much better camera. And, fyi, you are not allowed to tell the folks at work about this, it’s not on the market yet.”  
  
They took a few pictures until Tony was satisfied with how he looked - Steve was naturally photogenic he’d declared - and then he opened another app and tossed the phone to Steve.  
  
“You owe me a phone number. Think you can function with something from this century?”  
  
“My phone is not that old! You sound just like my friend Nat,” Steve rolled his eyes as he entered his number in Tony Stark’s phone, just as their plane pulled up to its gate. He handed the phone back to Tony, undid his seatbelt and got up to take out his and Tony’s carry-ons, very much aware of Tony’s eyes going up and down his body a couple of times as he did so. “There you go. Welcome home,” Steve handed him his luggage with a smile, and followed him out of the plane.  
  
“Thanks. For the luggage and the company,” Tony shot him a smile as they headed towards the luggage carrousel together. “I’ll send you that picture once I’m in the car, that ok?”  
  
“Yeah, that’s totally fine, no rush.”  
  
They walked together quietly until they reached their destination, each of them throwing the occasional glance at the other, and always catching the other doing the same, resulting in lots of shy smiles from both and insane amounts of blushing on Steve’s end. And boy did Steve not want that walk to end. But it did, and Tony turned to Steve and extended his hand to him, his mouth curved in the sweetest smile Steve had ever seen – nothing like all the magazine and paparazzi shots he’d come across of the man before him.  
  
“It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Steve. I have to head out, my driver is over there, but we’ll chat soon, ok?”  
  
“The pleasure was all mine, seriously. Bye Tony.” Steve replied, trying to keep his cool, as he said goodbye the beautiful brunette in front of him, absolutely not expecting to ever hear from Tony Stark again.  
  
Steve ordered himself an Uber and spotted his luggage on the carrousel. He sent his friends a quick note letting them know he’d landed as he headed outside the terminal. He looked up and spotted his ride just as he heard his phone buzz with a new message. He got his things in the car and settled himself in the backseat before looking at it again, fully expecting a reply from one of his friends asking what time to meet for dinner tomorrow night. Instead, he found a message from a new contact:  
  
_Hey Steve! Not sure if you remember me – we met on a flight earlier today, short guy who needed rescuing with his luggage? I promised to send you that selfie, and I was wondering if you had plans for dinner tomorrow night? I’m fairly sure I can find somewhere on solid ground. I can send you a time and location first thing tomorrow morning if you’re in, let me know. I really want to see you again. _  
  
The picture came a few minutes later, just as he got a reply from his best friend asking about his flight. Steve opened the group chat and smiled as he replied to his friends.  
  
_Oh, you won’t believe me if I type it out. How about brunch tomorrow morning so I can explain? I kinda have a date tomorrow night. _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like this little drabble I came up with. I am basically Steve in this one, I hate flying. And on our first flight, my husband had to talk me through all the sounds and mechanics of planes and flight. It definitely helped (not that I still like flying, but I'm not quite as anxious as Steve, at least on take off and landing).
> 
> And, sorry for the world's cheesiest title, I could not come up with anything!


End file.
